Category: Benedictine Spirituality

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Finding Inspiration

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Our world has become a challenging place. All around us conflict is breaking out between nations with devastating consequences for the people caught up in it. Our news feeds are full of doom and gloom, and we are no longer even sure that we can believe what we see or read.

It’s so easy to give into hopelessness and despair. We can quickly tap into a narrative that tells us the destruction and loss are inevitable, and there is nothing we can do to improve things for ourselves or anyone else. The message is clear that hope is at best misguided and gullible.

That is not the message of the gospel. The gospel calls to be people of hope is not a call for when life is going well, when we feel secure and settled. It’s a call for when we feel like we are living on a knife edge.

These words from St Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians suggest a place to look for hope and inspiration:

“We always …thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul reminds us that, however bleak things feel, there are people quietly working to support those in need, to bring love to the loveless, to console the sorrowing.

They are keeping hope alive by faith and action in circumstances that seem impossible to us. He calls us to draw our inspiration from those people in these challenging times.

Who inspires you to keep hoping in our challenging times?

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Trusting the promise.

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Today’s first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, is full of promise and hope. It presents an image all the peoples of the earth been welcomed by God to a banquet on God’s holy Mountain.

It is a promise of salvation and new life that is at odds with our current reality as we watch people’s lives torn apart by war and violence once again. I’m reflecting especially on these words:

“On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enveloping all nations, God will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away the people’s shame everywhere on earth.”

It’s easy to be hopeful when life seems safe and secure. It’s much harder to hope when we are aware of how precarious life is. Isaiah was writing to people who knew what it was to lose all hope, people who had been exiled and lost everything they held dear.

Through centuries of seeming hopelessness his words kept their hope alive. These words, so full of hope, touch us all deeply because we all carry pain that feels inconsolable.

In these hard times they also bring to mind all those who are mourning the loss of homes, livelihoods, communities and loved ones. In the face of the suffering we see all around us give the passage a new depth and meaning.

This beautiful passage offers us a challenge as well as an invitation. We are also called to hope in that promise even in those times when life seems utterly hopeless.

Where is Christ calling you to hope in your dark times?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Scripture

Called to pray

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In today’s gospel the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray:

“Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

When they discover him praying they recognise something of value, something they want and feel that the lack. I guess they felt something similar when they heard from John’s disciples about how he taught them to pray. I’m always touched by this scene.

It’s tempting to think that as the disciples were always with Jesus prayer came easily and naturally to them. This interaction shows us they struggled to pray, just as we do. I find that both consoling and encouraging.

Even knowing the value of a regular practice of prayer we ignore the promptings of our heart to take time for prayer. There are a myriad of reasons why prayer can be left at the bottom of our “to do” list.

It might be that we are too busy, or that we think we will pray when all our other jobs are done, or when we are less tired… But I am inclined to think there is a deeper reason for our reluctance.

Prayers’ fruits are often hidden or unrecognisable. In a society that values achievement that can make prayer feel pointless. Alongside that we live in times that expect us to be in control of every aspect of our lives.

Prayer is a call to the very opposite of this. It involves letting go of all control. It calls us to let Christ lead us in challenging and unexpected paths.

Where is Christ challenging you to make prayer a daily practice in your life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Minds filled with Christ

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Writing to the Philippians in times of full of challenge and uncertainty Paul offers a message of hope, saying to them:

“There is no need to worry, but if there is anything you need, pray for it…and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

In a world that is growing ever more fragmented and violent his words have a new rfesonance for us. In the face of the news we hear daily it’s tempting to let ourselves spiral down into despair and hopelessness.

St Paul invites us to find another way, reminding us that even when we feel powerless we can still make choices that can be life changing. Echoing Deuteronomy’s call to “choose life” Paul tell the Philippians to deliberately choose to fill their minds with what will keep them focussed on Christ and his peace:

“Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.”

We have so much choice it can be overwhelming. This can encourage us to choose mindlessly, without reflecting on the consequences for ourselves or for others. That is not good enough for Paul. He calls us to examine our choices, to make them mindfully and prayerfully.

He reminds us that our choices have a real effect on our lives and the lives of others. He tells us that part of our Christian calling is to be discerning about our choices.

We are called to choose to hope when life feels hopeless, to give the benefit of the doubt to others, to trust and focus on the peace of Christ so that we can share it wherever we can.

Where is Christ calling you to focus on his peace today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture St Therese of Lisieux Uncategorized

The power of love.

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Today we are celebrating the feast of St Therese of Lisieux. She entered Carmel at 15 and died at 24. Once she entered Carmel she never left, she built no career, had no wealth and little influence. Even after her death, when her saintliness is recognised, she is often presented with an overlay of sentimentality and sweetness.

Her spirituality is often called “a little way” and that can make it tempting to dismiss her. In these challenging times we might be tempted to look for a saint who is more obviously heroic than this young woman. To do that would be to greatly undervalue St Therese’s message

Saint Therese was a woman of faith, courage, wisdom and discernment. Her little way takes us to the heart of the gospel. In a time when the church placed little value on love she was courageous in putting it at the heart of Christian life. Reflecting on St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians she writes:

“Love, in fact is the vocation which includes all others; it is a universe of its own, comprising all time and space – its eternal… My vocation is love… I had discovered where it is that I belong in the Church, the niche God has appointed for me. To be nothing else than love… That’s to be everything at once.”

She was able to see the one thing that she could do that had the power to change the world, one small act at a time. In these times when we are overwhelmed by the suffering we see in every area she offers us a way of making a difference. By choosing to show love in a world that often feels hateful our actions can affect real and lasting change.

Where are you being called to put love at the heart of your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture Uncategorized

Invitation to follow

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Today’s gospel offers an all-encompassing invitation that leaves no room for dithering or procrastination. Jesus does not disguise the fact that his invitation will be costly, saying to them:

“Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

He is not offering his followers security or certainty, instead he is asking them to step out into the unknown. He invites us to trust his leadership and guidance, to follow in his footsteps even when we can’t see the path ahead. With such a challenging invitation it’s inevitable that we develop our own ideas about where following Christ will lead us.

This may be necessary and valuable, but we have to accept that Jesus will override those ideas. He will surprise us taking us in unexpected directions that will present new challenges, open up new opportunities and call us once again to let go of everything. It’s a reminder that when we follow Jesus we can only ever see the next step, not the whole picture.

We live in very different times to those first disciples, we have opportunities and challenges they could never have imagined. Yet the invitation and the challenge is the same for us as it was for them.

We will be asked surrender things that we hold dear in order to better listen and to understand what is precious to others. As we follow Christ through the challenges of that process we can trust that his leadership will lead us into a deeper understanding of what it means to be his disciples.

Where is Christ calling you to follow him today?

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The courage to change.

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We prefer direct, simple answers, even when we know complex, nuanced responses are needed. We tend to assume it is weakness to change our minds rather than the result of further understanding or reflection. This approach has perhaps always been part of human experience, it speaks to a basic need for clarity and certainty.

In our own uncertain and fearful times this need for clarity and certainty has only increased. It sometimes feels that there is no space for people to reconsider or adjust their views or actions without being viewed at best with suspicion.

Today’s gospel takes the opposite view. Jesus tells the story of two brothers, sons of a vineyard owners, who are both asked by their father to work in the vineyard. The first refuses to go, and walks off. The second agrees to go willingly but then doesn’t:

“My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go.”

Jesus asks: “Which of the two did the father’s will?” The answer is clear. The first son, despite his initial refusal, is the obedient son. He is the one Jesus holds up as an example.

We don’t know what made him change his mind, thinking better of his initial response and moving to a more generous position. Through his example Jesus reminds us that we are called to generosity and love, not to certainty. He offers us the opportunity for a second chance, to make more loving and generous responses than we might have initially.

Where is Christ offering you an opportunity to think better of some of your responses today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Scripture Uncategorized

Radical Trust

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It can be hard to feel hopeful when life is tough. In challenging and uncertain times we tend to tense up and close in on ourselves. We find it hard to be hopeful, trustful or aware of our blessings. We look for ways of maintaining the status quo, and keeping ourselves safe Understandable as that is Scripture calls us to a different way of being.

In his own challenging and uncertain times Jesus sends the Twelve out to preach the Good News with nothing except his authority. Instead of allowing them to look for ways to protect themselves he challenges them to risk embracing the uncertainty:

“He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to take sandals, but he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’”

We are so familiar with this passage that it’s easy to sanitise it. We can assume it’s for the disciples, but not for us today. We can allow the challenges of our lives today to overshadow that call, using those legitimate demands to avoid it.

We are also called to the radical trust and hope of discipleship. That can be easier when life is good, when our nations and societies seem stable and secure.

It becomes much more difficult when we live with fear and uncertainty across the globe. Yet, while the details might look different to the instructions to the Twelve, the underlying call is the same.

We too are called to live with radical trust and hope in the midst of much that would undermine that.

Where are you being called to radical trust in Christ in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Fairness and generosity.

Vindemia Winery

Some thoughts on fairness and generosity from our archives: Today’s gospel is all about fairness and generosity. At the beginning of the day a landowner goes out to hire workers for his vineyard, offering them a fair price for the day’s work.

He goes out again several times later in the day, right up to the 11th hour, and still finding idle workers sends them to his vineyard offering them “a fair wage”.

At the end of the day he tells his bailiff to pay all the workers the same amount, starting with the ones who came last. This causes some consternation to those who have been working all day, and they grumble that it’s not fair as they have worked longer and should receive more.

They evoke our sympathy because we all know what it feels like to be treated unfairly. Yet, the vineyard owner takes a different view, saying to them:

“My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?… Why be envious because I am generous?

His words turn the situation on its head, challenging his workers, and us, to look at it from a different perspective. He calls us to look at our motivations and to acknowledge that there can be a thin line between our desire for fairness and envy.

His generous action points out that generosity is a hallmark of the Kingdom. It compels us to reflect on where we can be generous towards those around us with both our material goods and our time.

Where is Christ calling you to act generously today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Rule of St Benedict Scripture

Finding contentment.

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In today’s gospel Jesus, perhaps fed up with a barrage of complaints, says to the people:

“‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market-place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t cry.’”

His words challenge me to reflect on a very human tendency which we all recognize and fall into all to easily, grumbling. It can sometimes seem that whatever we have, even if we get exactly what we say we want, we are never content. We always hanker after something else.

His words take me back to the Rule of St Benedict. They almost perfectly illustrate one of the things he warns against at every opportunity. He repeatedly warns his community against “murmuring”, that low level discontent that can bubble destructively under the surface of our lives, sapping our appetite for real and constructive change.

It’s easy to grumble in these challenging times when so much that we relied on seems to be broken or untrustworthy. This distracts us, helping us to avoid taking responsibility and appropriate action where we can. That’s never the call of the gospel.

Instead, Jesus’ words are a call to discernment. He calls us to look at where we fall into the temptation of grumbling instead of using our discontent to seek constructive solutions to our challenges.

Where is Christ challenging you to avoid grumbling today?